[ Jayce feels like a furnace beneath Viktor's hand, hot and strong and so capable of making him melt. He wonders absentmindedly if he feels his own body heat, if it bothers him when he's working at the forge, if that's why he works shirtless more often than not.

He's trying very hard to think about something other than a shirtless, sweaty Jayce. The conversation is an important one, if only because it's so private. Viktor dislikes talking about his disability as much as he dislikes talking about any other aspect of his body. As someone so focused on the mind and the pursuit of knowledge, of skill, the body was simply a tool—his own was a bit damaged. ]

Yes, I was born this way. [ He nods, then shrugs. His voice is neither sad nor deprecating, rather factual as always. ] It wasn't so bad when I was smaller, lighter, lower to the ground. Doctors have done what they can, but it's hard to work miracles on something that has always been broken.